Did you know?

• No one knows for sure, but it is believed that ice cream was invented in China around 2000BC when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in snow.
• In 62 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar sent slaves to the tops of the Apennines Mountains to bring fresh snow down to the royal kitchens. The snow was flavored with fruits, wine and honey.
• Ice cream became a sensation at the White House in 1812, when First Lady Dolly Madison served it at the second inaugural ball.
• Nancy Johnson invented the first hand cranked ice cream freezer in 1843.
• In 1851, Jacob Fussell, a milk dealer in Baltimore, converted his milk plant into the first commercial ice cream plant.
• The ice cream cone was invented on September 22, 1896, in New York City, by Italo Marchiony. He was granted a patent for his creation in December of 1903.
• The ice cream cone was then introduced to the public in 1904 at the St. Louis World Fair, when a waffle vendor rolled waffles into the shape of a cone for an ice cream vendor at an adjoining booth.
• When the banks closed during the Depression in 1933, Brigham's authorized its managers to accept IOU's from customers as a form of payment. At their peak, the IOU's amounted to over $25,000. When the banks reopened, over 90% of the IOU's were paid back.
• America is the ice cream capital of the world, producing over 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream per year.
• Each American consumes around 22 quarts of ice cream a year.
• Vanilla is the number one flavor in the U.S. with sales equaling almost 30% of total ice cream sales.
• The #1 selling ice cream in Boston is Brigham's Vanilla ice cream.
• Vanilla, Chocolate and Chocolate Chip account for well over half of the Brigham's ice cream sold in Boston.
• The Big Dig is the fastest selling special flavor in Brigham's 85 year history.
• In 1983, Cookies n' Cream ice cream, made with real Oreos, climbed to number 5 on the best selling ice cream flavors. It is the fastest growing new flavor in the history of the ice cream industry.
• More ice cream is sold on Sundays than any other day of the week.
• July is National Ice Cream Month! The second Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day!